Star-Striker
Leader of the Supermoms, and arguably the main character in most of the stories. Her superhero persona is a play on the archetypes of American superhero comics (especially, patriotic-themed heroes like Captain America or DC and Marvel's Miss Americas). The skimpiness of her costume is a subtle nod to American cape comics' traditions of female costume design, especially how they often become a lot skimpier as a teen character reaches adult age. Biography When she was a young girl, Beverly Brighton was fascinated by superheroes, and although she had no superpowers of her own, was determined to become one. When she was 13, she became head cheerleader and started training her body to peak physical condition. At the age of 14, Beverly decided it's time to hit the streets of Sapphire City its new masked protector, the all-American heroine Star-Striker! Several times Beverly tried to apply for membership to existing superhero teams, but was rejected every time due to her young age. Not the one to be deterred by such insignificant obstacles, she decided to form a team of her own, and thus put out flyers looking for anyone willing to join her. Soon, the Teen Queens were born. Like most other Teen Queens, Star-Striker designed and made her costume herself, using her favorite heroes' and heroines' costumes as inspiration. As supercrime seemed to go into decline (mainly due to the Teen Queens' efforts), Beverly and her friends decided to hang up their costumes and try to have a normal life. Beverly got a job at the Multinational Intellectual Logistics & Financing corporation, working her way up the corporate ladder to the position of a high-ranking executive manager. During this time, she dated several men (possibly including superhero Gunner Graves), but these relationships didn't last long. Until at a corporation-organized charity dinner, Beverly met a recently divorced (artist? writer? cartoonist?) named Steve Banks, and they quickly hit it off. Soon, it was wedding bells for Bev and Steve, and in a couple of years they already had two children, Betsy and Ben. When 15 years after retiring, Anne-Marie Stephens told her she was thinking of getting back on the streets, Beverly disapproved of her decision and tried to dissuade her. However, she couldn't help but think about getting into her old costume herself. When Professor Insidious returned to extract vengeance on the now-retired Teen Queens and attacked her friends, Beverly rushed to their rescue, once again becoming Star-Striker! After saving the day with her reunited team, Beverly realized how much she needed to be a superhero again. And so Star-Striker officially returned to action, as the valiant leader of the team that was now called the Supermoms! Beverly wears the same costume she wore as a Teen Queen, but it looks much more skimpy and lewd on her voluptuous matured body. At first, Beverly didn't like this and even attempted several redesigns, but those proved inferior to the old costume in battle effectiveness and symbolism, so she decided to just stick with it. Powers Star-Striker is a peak athlete, skilled in acrobatics and a lot of different martial arts. Her perfectly toned legs are especially strong, so her fighting style is focused more on leg action (kicks, leg holds, etc.) than punching. However, Beverly makes sure not to overtrain her body, so it looks more like a Sports Illustrated cover than a Flex cover. Star-Striker's greatest asset, however, is being a brilliant strategist and tactician. She can quickly assess the situation at hand, see the big picture, and determine the best course of action for each of her teammates. Many a battle was saved by her quick and creative thinking. She issues her commands using the Crypto-Communicators – gilded oval-shaped devices that the Supermoms use for communication. Personality Beverly is a heroic woman, never the one to stand on the sidelines while someone's being hurt or unprotected. While not exceptionally booksmart in the academic sense, Beverly is a very intelligent, level-headed and down-to-earth person. Strong-willed and assertive, she's the type of woman who prefers doing things herself than wait for them to be done by others. However, in stiuations requiring teamwork, as a natural born leader with good problem-solving skills, she can quickly determine the best course of action for those in her command. Organizing, improving and managing things isn't just part of Beverly's day job, it's her true calling. Too many times has Beverly chosen to spend her time and effort on perfecting something, just because nobody else has been arsed to do it. This passion also results in her constant and diligent efforts towards self-improvement, with Beverly never being satisfied with her current knowledge, skill set and physical form. It may be said that Beverly can't stand imperfection, though she's never fanatical about it. Some things can make Beverly lose her temper, and she may fume for a whole day, but she never lets it cloud her judgment in important affairs. Her penchant for self-improvement often makes her dissatisfied with herself, however she uses these feelings as inspiration to try harder. One of Beverly's guilty pleasures is dumping a big part of her executive's salary into expensive and exquisite lingerie. Her husband doesn't mind, though. Family Steven "Steve" Banks Beverly's husband. Age: 35 years old. Steve is a stay-at-home dad, with a yet unspecified freelance job (artist? writer? cartoonist?). He is laid back and easygoing, always cheerful and optimistic, and generally a fun guy to be around. It was one of the reasons Beverly married him, though it has its downsides. Steve being so carefree and nonchalant means that most family problems and responsibilities fall on Beverly's shoulders. Basically, she wears the pants in this household. But with her energetic personality of a leader, she wouldn't have it any other way. While Steve's childish attitude sometimes infuriates her, Beverly loves him to bits. Recently, Beverly started feeling jealous when Steve watches Star-Striker's heroic deeds on TV. She understands that it's stupid, but can't help feeling jealousy towards her own alter ego. Beverly doesn't reciprocate the amorous feelings of her superior, MILF corporation CEO Leonard Drakethorpe, towards her, as Steve is truly the only man she loves. However, she doesn't tell on Drakethorpe's unprofessional behavior, as she respects the man too much for his selfless efforts towards building the corporation from the ground up. She decides not to tell Steve anything about Drakethorpe's actions, because while she knows she never did anything that betrayed her husband's love and trust, she doesn't want to inadvertently hurt his feelings. !!!SPOILERS!!! In a future issue (probably 5 or 6) it will be revealed that Steve's first wife was Victoria Timberlake, Beverly's worst rival in high school, where Vicky played the role of class bitch. This news comes as a shock for Beverly who hasn't seen Victoria since high school and hasn't gotten over her contempt and resentment towards her. The two women meet, and both act very hostile towards each other, with poor Steve being caught in the middle of their crossfire of passive-aggressiveness. But soon a supervillain attack happens, forcing Victoria and Beverly (who can't change into her costume in front of Vicky) to survive together, which serves as a bonding factor, helping them know each other better and get over their past grievances. After the rest of the Supermoms defeat the villain, Steve learns that the only thing worse than your wife and your ex-wife being constantly at each other throats... is when they become best friends! Elizabeth Ross "Betsy" Banks Beverly and Steve's daughter. Age: 14 years old. Betsy is a spitting image of Bev when she was 14, except for her long, dyed-blonde hair. Betsy inherited her mother's athleticism, and is the head cheerleader of Sapphire City Magnet School. She has grown up idolizing Star-Striker, not knowing her idol was really her own mother! Betsy wants to become a superhero like Star-Striker – much to her mother's chagrin. Beverly considers superheroics not a wise and safe career choice for her daughter, and wants to nip Betsy's hobby in the bud. To this moment, Beverly's attempts at dissuading Betsy have had no effect. Betsy's not as smart and cunning as her younger brother, but she's definitely not an airhead. Besides her athleticism and love for superheroics, she also seems to have inherited her mother's energy and organizing skills. She's much more pragmatic and ruthless in reaching her goals, though, never the one to be stopped by any obstacle on her way. While certainly not a bad or evil person, she doesn't shy from using some dirty and underhanded methods in getting what she wants, a tactic that got her the position of head cheerleader. After the emergence of the Supermoms, she quickly joined a small Star-Striker fan club in her school. Not unlike Genghis Khan, she first became the club's leader, and then led a long and ingenious campaign of diplomacy and intrigue, blackmail and charm, towards other existing fanclubs, which ended with her emerging as president of a grand unified Official Star-Striker Fan Club of Sapphire City. ...There are times when Beverly gets a bit scared by her daughter's obvious political skills. Betsy has no romantic interest at the moment. There are signs that Thomas Evelle, the son of supervillainess Mrs. Evil, is showing some interest in Betsy (probably seeing some of his mother's ruthlessness in her). Betsy, however, doesn't even acknowledge his existence. Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Banks Beverly and Steve's son. Age: 12 years old. Ben is as mischievous as he is brilliant. It is suspected that he inherited his mother's smarts. He excels at all subjects in school, but enjoys nothing more than tormenting his older sister. Beverly as well had better keep her wits about her, or else Ben could deduce her secret! Gallery Star-striker.png|Artist: JMD starstriker02.png|Artist: JMD starstriker01z.jpg|Artist: Corndog starstriker01.jpg|Artist: Corndog. A more... generously endowed version starstriker01x.jpg|Peach template Supermoms01z.png|Artist: Bellend. Star-Striker with other Supermoms (sketch) Star-Striker (Beverly 'Bev' Banks) civilian (3).jpg|Beverly in her civilian attire starstriker03z.jpg|Another version of Beverly in her civvies starstriker03zz.jpg|Beverly in lingerie starstriker02.jpg|Peach template. Beverly in lingerie Teenqueens01zz.jpg|Artist: Corndog. Teenage Star-Striker with other Teen Queens Category:Characters Category:Hero Category:Female